Entertainment

Taylor Swift May Have Just Dropped *Another* Hint About Her New Album's Rumored Butterfly Theme

by Savannah Walsh
Frazer Harrison/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

Swifties are coming out of the woods, and dusting off their wildest dreams with theories about Taylor Swift's next album. Stans of almost any artist will cling onto conspiracy theories about the theme, title, and release date of their favorite artist's new album. Some predictions hold more weight than others. But in the case of when one major star's seventh album is coming out, Taylor Swift's butterfly birthday gift to Todrick Hall may be one of the most promising bread crumbs yet. Are you...ready for it?

It all started when Hall took to Instagram on Thursday, sharing his excitement over Swift's birthday gifts to him. These included an Alexander McQueen jacket he had supposedly been eyeing for weeks and some homemade cinna-stix. Because we just know Tay lives for an extra gesture, printed on the cinna-stix in icing is the message, "TODRICK LOVES CINNA STIX. I HEART TODRICK. Love, Taylor." I mean, we'll be the first to admit an invite to the squad would not be turned down at this point.

Hall revealed that the gifts came in lieu of Swift's attendance at his birthday party, writing, "OMG the old Taylor couldn’t come to the birthday party tonight cuz she had to fly out." First off, the "Look What You Made Me Do" reference (Hall was in the music video) is everything. Secondly, where is she flying to?! (Swifties, speculate). But the possible clue about Swift's forthcoming album actually came via the card.

On the front of the envelope to Hall's birthday card is a yellow butterfly with Todrick's name written on it. On the back is a teal-colored wax seal with, what else, the letter "T" on it. For the uninitiated Swiftie, these personal touches are certainly Pinterest-worthy. But for "those in the know" these are major clues for TS7. Allow us to recap.

Fans have been convinced since about a month ago that new music in the post-Reputation era is on its way. Swift posted a photo of seven palm trees on Insta in late February. Her followers interpreted that fairly innocuous post as proof that her seventh album was imminent. After that initial photo, all bets were off and fans began incorporating each of her following photos as a countdown to the new album. Swift even acknowledged all of the rumors on her account posting a photo of her cat Olivia looking shocked, captioned "She just read all the theories."

Things really started to get interesting, however, when the recurring theme of butterflies really began to take off. In March, Swift began captioning photos with the butterfly emoji more than once. She wrote on March 14, "Due to the butterfly migration in Southern California maybe I'll just stay outside until I head indoors for @iheartradio awards." This was naturally followed by the butterfly emoji. When she headed to the iHeartRadio awards later that day, her shoes showcased some major butterfly detailing. Coincidence? We think not.

So, Hall's envelope being emblazoned with a butterfly is just the latest confirmation that she's gearing up for a metamorphosis of her very own. Hall even got in on the fun, posting a butterfly emoji in the midst of a flurry of speculative comments. But the seal has its own meaning attached to it, according to fans.

As it turns out, Swifties who purchased her 2019 calendar saw a very similar-looking seal with "13" on it on the 13th day of the months April, May, July, August, and December. Could her album be released on one of those days? People seem to be running with it, theorizing with abandon on Twitter.

If you can think of any possible clue that might in some way relate to Swift's next album, there's a theory for it. But whether the crystal balls of those on the Internet will come true, or the only thing the seals signify are blank spaces, the conversations will continue. I mean, it only makes sense that a close friend of Swift's since 2016 like Hall would be one of the first to know...We knew this rabbit hole was trouble when we walked in.